The Two Thieves

Everything had gone so well up until now. I'd become an Arrancar, like I wanted. I'd met up with Grimmjow and Kisuke, like I wanted. I was granted access to the Soul-Society, just like I wanted.

So then, why was this different? I wanted Enrakyōten. I needed it.

There had been no intervention, as I'd suspected. Was I still destined to win here, or had I been lying to myself this entire time?

"I wonder… Just how many Soul-Reapers did you kill with that last attack, Arrancar?"

Tokinada's voice was just as vile as before. He stood 50 metres away, a sickly green aura surrounding him and the hilt of his Zanpakutō—the blade was missing, vanished entirely.

This was the true release of Enrakyōten.

"Shinsō," Tokinada whispered, his unsettling voice carrying over the flat remains of the Aristocratic District.

A flash of light shot through me, piercing my Hierro as it tore into my chest.

The true power of Enrakyōten: The ability to mimic other Zanpakutō. It's fully released state was a far cry of its partial version.

"Do you plan on fighting back, Arrancar?" Tokinada asked, his voice tinged with excitement. "That look—your despair. It's wonderful…"

Was I going to fight back? I'd been idle this entire time, arguing with myself about pointless things. What did it matter if I was altruistic or not? What did it matter if I was a good person? This world wasn't real. None of it existed. It might as well have been an elaborate dream—a nightmare.

I wouldn't be capable of mimicking anyone if I tried. I was too caught up on trying to be someone I wasn't.

Lance Herscher didn't exist in this universe—the version of me was dead, gone. He existed on Earth, likely buried in a coffin somewhere in Europe. This person—Me, was someone else.

"People like you don't deserve the light of day, Tokinada. You've plagued the Soul-Society with your presence for long enough."

Tokinada laughed, retracting his Zanpakutō as it shot back out of my chest. "Ha. Is that right? What do you make of all this, then?"

He stood with his arms spread out, glancing around at the destruction I'd caused.

"Tsunayashiro Tokinada…. I only wanted to speak with the man. Curious about something Kaname Tōsen had said in the past, but then, suddenly, Lord Tsunayashiro lashed out in anger. Killing his dear sister and close friend Seinosuke Yamada in the process." I chuckled, grabbing my Zanpakutō from the ground as I walked towards him.

A smile crept up his face, "a meagre attempt, although I'm quite impressed such a meaningless person could lie through their teeth!"

With a swift motion, he flung the hilt of his Zanpakutō forward, "Hyōrinmaru!"

Suddenly, the air grew cold. A whip of ice appeared at the base of his hilt as it slashed through the air, a red-eyed eyed ice-dragon appearing at the tail of the whip.

"Gray Rey Cero: Fuego Rápido," I said under my breath, slitting my upper-chest open with my Zanpakutō, releasing a wave of blood.

The liquid began falling, but was quickly absorbed into the 5 cero forming in front of me, their lilac appearance pulsating in and out.

"Bakudō Number 81: Dankū."

As my cero fired at Tokinada, a translucent barrier appeared, the same as before.

"Pointless. So very pointle—" As Tokinada mocked me, my Sonido whisked me behind him, my Zanpakutō slicing at his arm as he tried blocking.

My katana cut through a chunk of his hand, slicing away bits of flesh as he scrambled backwards. Still moving backwards, Tokinada dropped to the floor, one hand placed on the ground to keep himself up.

He whispered, "Bakudō Number 21: Sekienton"

A cloud of smoke erupted from his hand, engulfing the area in a thick fog of red. My Pesquisa was tracking him as he dashed away, but I was slightly behind, the smoke slowing me down.

With Sonido, I quickly moved out of the smoke and back towards Tokinada, who was now on the run. Closing in on him, I could hear the faint sound of his voice, its vile tone ringing in my ears.

"Raikōhō!"

"Descorrer," I said, pulling down on the space in front of me as a void appeared. The darkness ate the blast of lightning Tokinada had cast entirely, its jaw closings moments later.

Tokinada clicked his tongue as I appeared in front of him. Swinging down, my Zanpakutō clashed with his own as he mimicked another.

"Senbonzakura," he chuckled, disappearing into a sea of flowers as his Zanpakutō vanished.

"Tsk…"

The previous Shikai he'd imitated weren't of much concern, easily worked around. Senbonzakura was troublesome, though. Considering Tokinada's reiryoku levels as noble, his version of Chuchiki Byakuya's Shikai was likely around the same level.

Even with my massive spiritual pressure and Hierro, the slender fragments of Senbonzakura were still troublesome, slashing and digging into my body as I avoided the clump of blades moving through the air.

"Rise, Lluvia Olvidada," I said under my breath, hurling my Zanpakutō into the sky. This time, it didn't scatter into fragments across the Seireitei, but focused on one, smaller cloud above me.

"Have you forgotten already," Tokinada jeered. "Your meagre, useless antics are nothing."

"Huego," I said, a bolt of lightning striking down on Tokinada. Most of the damage was blocked by the wall of pink-blades, but some of the man's hair had been caught, singed by the heat.

"Don't you see? This is all you amount to: A singed piece of hair!"

"You're wrong," I said. "I may not amount to much, but compared to you, I'm more than you'll ever be."

"Ha. Lying to yourself now, as well?"

"I was. Not anymore, though."

With that, a bolt of lightning floated down from the sky like a feather, its edges morphing in and out as I contained. Most of the cloud was still there, though bits had begun to morph and blend in with the Soul-Society's clouds and sky.

Black spiritual pressure soon began circling around me, my usual lilac slowly blending in as it morphed together, forming a dark, ominous color.

"I hope you can find a shred of hope hidden somewhere in your derelict, empty heart, Tokinada."

The green, infectious aura of Tokinada and Enrakyōten soon cowered, pushed back by the pillar of darkness emanating from my spiritual pressure.

"Resurrección: Segunda Etapa…"